A rambling train of thoughts about the universe and our micro solar system consisting of our dear Sun and other planets in a magnetic dance while we hurtle through space on the face of a rock and stare at flat screens where we attempt to connect while we detach.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The swallows have been doing a bang up job dessimating many bugs, feeding their babies.
Now the first baby swallows are in flight school.
We watched them sit and a parent comes by and basically knocks them off into flight.
The parents are after the kids all the time to practice flying and learning to feed themselves, these 6 week old baby birds who, in another 12 weeks or so,
will fly to South America
with their next siblings soon to hatch.

And I got to talk with Mom as I sat out back on a nice day. We had a nice conversation as usual.
Then a crow cawed in the distance, a familiar friend.
Mom did not hear it, a thousand miles away.
Then the crow flew and hovered directly over my head,
Caw, Caw...how many I do not remember exactly, I think 5.
Did you hear that? I asked Mom.
Yes, she heard him that time,
our friendly crow friend.
"I didn't understand what he said", Mom said and then added, "I don't speak Crow."
I don't either, of course.
But I never tire of hearing Crow Talk.

Summer is a good time to bust on lawyers
because that is when they always take their vacations.
This is one strategy in my how to drive a lawyer crazy book.
I have not written it yet, and may never get to finish,
but here is the opening poem:

Lawyering
Back and forth they go
Poor folks suffer losing time
Property all gone

Believe me, this single poem is the most succinct way to see what lawyering is.
(it is not in the dictionary, for one thing).

Lesson 1.
In opposing a lawyer,
The first lesson is to determine what religious affiliation they are
and then you will know their vacation schedule.
Next, file the big motions right before a vacation.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Garden is giving us challenges we have not yet had.
So much snow, then rain, rain.
Last night a heavy dew?
Today, rain this pm.
Some sunlight drifting in from time to time,
makes you squint
since we have been living with the sky in greyscales.
What plants we managed to get out look marvellous,
reminding us that things could be worse,
and the food we grow
and store
becomes more precious
with all these challenges.

how about our road pics?
It is worse than it looks,
the camera failing to show our disappointment
(over $6,000 vt prop taxes due in 4 months on this property)
especially when a river is running through it...
I call this shovel ready,
where is my bailout?

Monday, June 27, 2011

We hurried to plant what we could in between
rain showers
&
cold fronts.
I snapped a couple of pictures of flowers
and had no time to edit.
We did stop once or twice to smell the fragrant roses.
Sundrops shunning the clouds and giving us bright color
and hope.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Today is the second of the three longest daylight days for us in the Northern Hemisphere.
When I did a post of the Three Shortest Days, someone searched google for the three shortest days.
So, while I found it strange that I would do a post about some strange thought I had,
I found it even stranger that someone else thought something even similar.
We get a little daylight obsessed up here, are so light deprived in the winter.
So today being
The Longest Daylight Day
it is naturally special,
and a little sadness
leaks through
when we think
The light of day will get progressively shorter a tiny bit each day until December 20 something.
We managed to prepare a few more garden beds last night
and hope to plant some more before the next rainfall.
meanwhile,
Enjoy the Longest Day today
and try to hold that thought.
Summer begins today.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Potatoes went in today and thus begins our planting season, better later than never.
I planted some of the bigger pepper plants & immediately a whipping wind came up.
It is not like we can just un-plant them...they were still standing when the sun went down.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I am so honored to receive
The Sunshine award,
from my dear friend Herrad,
who lives across the pond.

Stay tuned, it will pass to another blogger soon.

Meanwhile, while moderating my comments, I received a comment
on "Which 251".
That post was an attempt to explain that there are 251 towns in the state and about
as many different tax codes with their different ways of taking property
when you do not pay
"the man".
So rather than just let this poignant comment just be put on the shelf,
I am posting on my Sunshine post,
So sweet of Herrad to give Sunshine,
and the light from these anonymous comrade from a neighboring town
has made my day all the better.

anonymously received from my comments:
We have a lot of empathy for you. Our /Charlotte property tax is 26% of our taxable income. We are elderly, and have been told that legislators want to help keep us (the elderly)in our homes and that they are working on restructuring the school tax (the culprit). The legislature knows about our situation--we'll see how long it takes to get relief! We are at their mercy unless something like a class action suit can be brought. I assume you have written to all the legislators? Best wishes!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Horseradish in bloom
Monkton, Early June 2011
Gardens too wet here to plant or even till.
This good tasting root plant grows by
our back door:
Horseradish,
exudes the characteristic horseradish smell
from it's delicate white flower spikes.
The Gardens we hope will dry out this week.

been enjoying Levon Helm's Ramble at the Ryman, a must for anyone....levonhelm.com

i published my rants
on my blog and wrote to
all the politicians
i could handle
about how property tax lien sales in Vermont
are
wrong,
mean spirited,
greedy,
evil,
discriminatory,
arbitrary,
and lack due process
by design

that the rules of abatement
are dependent on your stature in town &
how badly someone wants what you have
or wants to destroy who you are.

no response was seen
day after day
i recently started trying to blog & write to the so called free press
about towns and how they have powers
that take my rights away &
they censored me

and when the vt senator who nearly saw his 500k house sold
for 6k that was due 4 months ago
said, we have been shamed
i wondered
why did he think this was
shameful?

i guess the same reason i did

i hoped maybe he would re-look at all the laws
that allow
one local person in each town to foreclose on your
property to satisfy
taxes
and unconstitutional penalties
as if we taxpayers
are all sinners
and
scofflaws
as reported
by the national enquirer trained
so called reporters

what do they know of the halls of shame?

my reporting more street credible,
more personal

and when a lawyer says he cannot pay the taxes
because business is slow
and his legislation
became his own undoing

it is time for a change
in the halls of shame

"the best way to repeal a bad law is to enforce it strictly" Abraham Lincoln

NASA's New Horizons: A Heart from Pluto

Lake Champlain

the challenges of freedom

My words were simply, "I cannot comprehend this." when told an excuse that my absentee ballot hadn't been mailed because.....I lost the rest. I filled out the absentee ballot form. Finally I wrote to the town front porch forum. Here it is:

School Revote

MARY GERDT

I did not receive an absentee ballot for the recent revote of the school vote. Apparently none were sent? Or did you receive one and mine was omitted? I prefer to vote at home. I signed the paper for absentee ballots. The Secretary of state said it is up to me to enforce the election rules. It is up to me to ask the town clerk to explain, go to court if need be. No, my body cannot take any more of that. My vote was not counted. If you like that policy, carry on. Just don't presume to know all the reasons I do not want to vote out in public. I thought that is what absentee ballots were all about.

update 5.19.15 follow up post to front porch forum

Several issues back I inquired if others in Monkton did not receive absentee ballots for the town school budget re-vote. I got no response. I do not interpret that as apathy or a conspiracy against me, although I am sorely tempted to take the easy way out. It is stuck in my craw, the assistant town clerk (why did we need an assistant?) said we talked it over and it was too late to send the absentee ballots out. Now I will reiterate I do not have the energy to fight this town over not being able to vote on a budget that affects the taxation on our property. I will submit to the reader that if you tolerate this, it is a slippery slope. Oh, and fair warning: when you fill out the form from the Secretary of State of Vermont for absentee voting for the year, and send it to the Town clerk or assistant, don't expect that you will receive the ballots as requested. Then when you don't, guess "they" decided there wasn't enough time. My vote was never counted.

What if you could help tell the history of 1960's #NYC #GreenwichVillage? You can, See Richard...

Monkton Chronicles

Monkton Chronicles,

November 2016

Thanksgiving Week

It's been 7 months since I have put out an article about this town. Pipeline Fighters, Political Sparring, Health and Fatigue have dominated my summer. Now Summer and Fall are behind us. The first snow a gentle morning. A new America is forming, baby boomers aging, parties losing, party winning. Not worth crying about, little snowflakes, we all melt away in the end. We scraped up what silver we had to pay the taxman. Narrowly paid, avoiding being pinched by zero tolerance tax collectors. shortly after that our 11 year old pellet stove died. It was a good run. Fred and son installed our new stove. toasty warm. hopefully you are warm wherever you are. best wishes, meg

April 2016

4.30.16

I have neglected my lonely Chronicles, Times are tough in this idyllic state of chaos. Vermont, of course, is what I mean. Vermont and Vermonters, genuine and those who "identify as Vermonters" can take credit for the steady as he goes, In full command, Silver Warrior, Bernie Sanders. I predicted he will win the nomination. I still believe that. Locally the steadily advancing Northern front of the Canadian free for all Gaz pipeline. They are carving their way to the Tree that they killed, in fact, many hardwoods. They chipped them, all. Come on down and look. I don't know what the answer is. Addie could only stay up in that tree so long. We warriors for the planet feel we have been here before. And hope we may stop the madness that supports fracking in #Alberta. Town of Monkton, Vermont has a website if you care to peruse the gas pipeline stuff. It all makes me sick.

Spring is being her usual stubborn self in the North Country. The Sunlight has been marvelous. Code word: Sunlight = Arctic air...brr.

May will start a little warmer and badly needed rain. That will wash the pollen down, and start the greening...A Spring delight here. Brown to Green. All for now. Have a Wonderful May. meg

March 2016

3.18.16

It's been awhile since I have posted in the land of sparse news.

There was a "Quintessential Town Meeting" in Monkton, Vermont that I have once again boycotted. That's part of the plan, you know, to steer the town business the way of the chosen few. I gave up, quit, starvation of my political desires. Forget it. I can't. It's hard to explain all this. You may think I am being whiny, intolerant. ignorant...

No, I am frustrated. How can one person one vote by transferred to the mass in the school auditorium? If you're still confused, that, too is part of the plan. No wonder I haven't written updates in the Chronicles.

Keep tuned...spring is on the way. meg

February 2016

2.10.2016

Still more or less an open winter with spotty snowfalls in the Champlain Valley. Some cold air on the way to take us below zero.

We are now on the shorter side of winter. The daylight hours changing subtly at first, then all at once you notice. The snow that is lacking reminds me of how reflective snow is. South of here, blizzards and hurricanes. Guess it's nice for us to have a break.

The election timeline is fascinating, for a few seconds. Then it falls into a monotony. The major media outlets rake in the dough...strange that donations go to elect people. Or that a woman (Carly Fiorina) was excluded from the New Hampshire debate because of polls that in New Hampshire, are grossly inaccurate. Women were not outraged at Carly's being stifled or Sarah Palin being called dumb. There should be so surprise when Hilary is squashed like in 2008.

Enough for now. Healing with Knight Salve #5, probiotics, sunshine.

January 2016

01.21.16

Every winter in Vermont is tough, just for different reasons. This year we were not hardened off, so to speak. All of the sudden it got cold, over and over. Eek. Finally got to this chore. The town as relates to me, We sent in forms for absentee ballots. Why do we have to do this every year? I am still experimenting with salves, and other healing regimens. Time is the factor we surely cannot control. Today, breaks of sunlight is warm in a south window.We fight the pipeline, the state brought a stacked deck to the public service board of Yes.

All for now.

December 2015

12.31.2015

Our unusually mild weather has turned to more typical cold, rain and snow.

The last day of 2015 finds me upright and breathing. Skin in the healing mode, aided by salves and soaps I have put together. Avoiding the mainstream products when I can.

We had a low keyed Christmas. Turning in early for New Year's. Hope everyone is safe tonight. Tomorrow is 2016.

That is an interesting number, isn't it? meg

12.7.2015

The Sun is lower in the sky, air is colder. We are enjoying the warmer December. There will be colder days ahead. Have been blogging, tweeting, and attempted to get my Samsung phone to coordinate with clouds, kindles, PC's and a rusty brain.

News came hard that a friend, my blogger mentor, Herrad Ford had passed away after an illness. Please say a prayer for her husband who is hurting right now. I am working on a tribute post. It will come to me when it is good and ready. Sleep helps with expression. Does that make sense? I am tired. Done for the day. Well, done except for watching Scorpion and NCIS-LA, 2 of my favorite shows right now.

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“For each thorn, there's a rosebud...for each twilight — a dawn... for each trial — the strength to carry on,For each stormcloud — a rainbow... for each shadow — the sun... foreach parting — sweet memories when sorrow is done.”

Quotes

Not sure where I found these."Suppose there are no hypothetical situations.""When your horse dies, get off."my lawyer haiku:"Lawyering,Back and forth they go,Poor folks suffer, losing time,Property all gone."

Gadget

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Quotes

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear."--Mark Twain, 19th-century American writer

“Security is mostly a superstition. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outrightexposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”--Helen Keller, 20th-century American writer, lecturer, advocate

"The vision of justice is an eternal long march to the Promised Land of the good life for all.” Justin Dart, Jr.

Wisdom of Kahlil Gibran

"Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love."

Fear

"There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know ourselves. That is the fear of God. And there is the fear of Man --fear that men won't understand us and we shall be cut of from them."
Robert Frost

Folks

In winter's tedious nights, sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Quote(s) of the Millenium

"Man, like a tree in the cleft of a rock, gradually shapes his roots to his surroundings, and when the roots have grown to a certain size, can't be displaced without cutting at his life." Oliver Wendell Holmes"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ready for Garth Hudson..from Levon Helm Studios twitter feed...

Music Links: Levon Helm Website & has the Midnight Ramble schedule

Official Blog of Mary E. Gerdt

for my content, all rights reserved 2009, 2010,2011,2012 ...

for links and other people's stuff, i will note that.

this blog is not profitable and content posted is

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Welcome

and feel free to move about the cabin. The ride may be bumpy. Some of this stuff is mine. Some stuff is other people's links-please read & enjoy, I work for free. Please do not rip off anything and sell it. Please do buy people's music listed here to support their music. If you do not want something posted here please tell me. Have a great day in the blogosphere. Mary